Bijdrage van Kneppelhout

I was interviewed by RechtenCircuit about the differences between U.S. and Dutch law, the global influence of U.S. law, and our innovative new law firm, Pierson Ferdinand LLP. https://lnkd.in/eDCdgySd Rechtencircuit.nl Michael Pierson Joel Ferdinand #DoingBusinessInTheUS #AmerikaansRecht #usexpansion

It was a pleasure to participate in the EUIPO - European Union Intellectual Property Office International IP Mediation Conference, to contribute to the panel discussion: "Legal Framework for Mediation: Do Businesses Have What They Need?", and to hear insights from my esteemed panelists. One of mine was that despite popular opinion, mediation is particularly useful in complex, multiparty disputes, where there are many legal and other issues to unpack - where navigating legal proceedings could prove too uncertain, expensive and frustrating. There is a legal case but then there is also the business case. I shared the findings of a study (available here: https://lnkd.in/dhkv5bmM) by American Arbitration Association and Fidal that the most "dispute-wise" companies encourage more business-oriented legal services. In particular, the study reveals that these companies: 1. consider that dispute management is of strategic importance in reducing the negative impact of conflict on their brand reputation, corporate policy and financial results; 2. favor the use of ADR methods when a dispute cannot be avoided by viewing litigation as a very last resort; and 3. train both their legal and business staff on ADR techniques, so that they have the right reflexes at the right time. I was happy to hear from Nathalia Mazzonetto how mediation is used in IP cases in Brazil, including how it has been useful even in enforcement proceedings. More coming soon! #IPmediation #internationalmediation #mediation #IPMediationConference2023

🎬🍿 The recording of our webinar on #IP #licence agreements is now available on demand via the link below (behind paywall). Don’t hesitate to reach out to Tom De Coster or myself should you have any question or if you would like to discuss!

Did you know that if you are acting for the licensee in respect of a Belgian law governed #IP #licence agreement you need to ensure that you contractually exclude the “contractual interpretation against the beneficiary” rule in Article 5.66 of the new Belgian Civil Code? Want to know more? Listen to the recording of our English language webinar, which is available on demand through https://lnkd.in/e27k2qdz (behind paywall) or reach out to us to discuss. Julie De Meyer

It may come as a surprise that mediation clauses in the Netherlands are generally deemed unenforceable. This been established case law since a decision by the Dutch Supreme Court in 2006 for contracts involving consumers. The Court of Appeal in the Hague (https://lnkd.in/e-7_ZZms) recently confirmed the same for professional parties that had agreed that "any disputes between the parties resulting from this agreement shall initially be resolved by parties through mediation."  Only if mediation would not work, the dispute would be resolved through arbitration. The Court of Appeal ruled that the mediation step could be skipped, because mediation is voluntary and the mediation agreement is therefore unenforceable. In my view, the decision does not do justice to the bargain parties struck to first mediate a dispute before submitting it to arbitration. There is also a policy argument to be made that the more cases are resolved through mediation, the better so parties should at least make a good faith attempt to mediate the dispute if they so agreed. The case has been appealed to the Dutch Supreme Court, so is to be continued.  

On 21 August 2023, the 6th section (TM law section) of the Frankfurt Court of Appeals quoted Munich attorneys Dr. Alexander R. Klett, LL.M. (Iowa), Dr. Christoph Mikyska’s recent law article (WRP 2023, 804, 807) in their decision in matter 6 W 24/20 in relation to the reimbursement of costs of patent attorneys in trademark infringement matters following the ECJ caselaw. The article was published in the German law journal - Wettbewerb in Recht und Praxis (WRP)   See the decision below.   #WRP #trademarks #litigation #ip #intellectualproperty

As mentioned in this press article over the Legal Management Forum that I happily attended last week, I believe that external law firms will face intense challenges over the coming years. The economic crisis and technology will revolutionize the way we work in house and external lawyers. #teambayer #legalmanagement #lawfirms Bayer Hispania

Inês Sequeira Mendes and MATILDE Mello Cabral attended the Financial Times Innovative Awards Europe 2023 yesterday, representing Abreu Advogados. Abreu Advogados, alongside its Knowledge Institute (Instituto de Conhecimento), secured the recognition for Innovation in Skills Development at the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers 2023. Additionally, Abreu was positioned as the 16th most innovative law firm across Europe, claiming the title of the foremost pioneering legal firm in Portugal. #abreuadvogados #LegalInnovation #InnovationInLaw #FTInnovativeLawyersEurope2023